This invention relates to an apparatus for protecting the fingers of the hand of a user engaged in activities that could result in the dislocation of at least one of the fingers of the user's hand, and in one embodiment of the invention, the apparatus is a glove used by snow skiers that protects the thumb of the skier's hand from being dislocated as a result of the forces generated by the ski poles or other ski equipment used by the skier while snow skiing.
The disruption of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb's metacarpophalangeal joint, sometimes identified as “skier's thumb,” is a unique type of sports injury. Such injuries include instances where the thumb is completely dislocated (radial luxation of the thumb), or when the thumb is only partially dislocated (radial subluxation of the thumb). In either case, the dislocation can injure the ulnar tendons that connect the thumb to the main bone structure of the forearm.
This type of injury is most common to snow skiers and usually occurs when a ski pole used by the skier unexpectedly hooks into the snow or on object hidden under the snow while the skier is skiing down a slope. The ski pole reacts to this hooking action by tending to move backward in relation to the skier and the skier's hand and fingers. Because this ski pole reaction is unexpected, the skier may not have time to brace the skier's hand and fingers prior to the ski pole movement. In other situations, bracing of the skier's hand may not be able to sufficiently counteract the force of the ski pole as it is kicked backward. The result of such strong and unexpected motions of the ski pole is usually the radial luxation or radial subluxation of the thumb. This occurs when the majority of the reactive pressure of the ski pole is transmitted through a ski glove worn by the skier to the thumb of the skier's hand that is holding the ski pole.
This acute type of thumb injury can also occur when a skier falls while his or her wrist is strapped to a ski pole. During the fall, the tendency is to try to release the pole and extend the hand to break the fall, thereby leaving the thumb extended with the pole resting in the web space between the thumb and the index finger. This results in hyperextension of the thumb and the thumb is usually deviated to the side at the moment of impact. The result is an injury to the ligament on the inside of the thumb that is responsible for stabilizing the thumb during pinch and grip.
Skier's thumb now accounts for a significant number of skiing injuries. In severe cases where ligaments have been completely torn, this injury must be surgically repaired. The ultimate stability of the thumb's ligament is important because of its contribution to the grasping function of the thumb. People with skier's thumb may be able to return to work and even skiing in a short period with proper rehabilitation. However, in the worst situations, the injury can only be repaired through surgery followed by period of extensive rehabilitation.
The occurrence and the severity of such injuries can be reduced by the skier's use of a ski glove that serves the usual purposes of assisting the skier in holding the ski pole, while simultaneously providing a brace for the thumb to prevent the thumb from fully or partially dislocating.